One of the first steps you take when you are figuring out your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

You will be able to estimate when you can plant balsam by referring to the USDA zone info for Centralia.

Planting Calendar for Balsam

Frost tolerance for balsam:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After the last frost has passed.

You can not plant balsam until after the last frost has passed because they do not do well in cold weather.

The earliest that you can plant balsam in Centralia is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant balsam and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your balsam may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your balsam indoors.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is April 15 in Centralia. It might get as low as -10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Always keep in mind that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Centralia and it is different every year. Half of the time in Centralia it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to protect your balsam in the event of a surprise late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Centralia

Here is the info for USDA Zone 6a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	October 15
Lowest Expected Low	-10°F
Highest Expected Low	-5°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -5°F.

Plants to Grow in Centralia

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Centralia.